Contact list for Directed In-Service providers

December 16, 2018

Attached is the contact information for persons who have communicated an interest to provide directed in-service training.
When the remedy of Directed In-Service training is imposed, the facility will be responsible for the procurement of services from an appropriate resource, and the facility will submit a copy of the proposed training program to the supervisor at the State Survey Agency for approval within the same 10-day period that is required for submitting the plan of correction.

RAI Spotlight Newsletter

November 26, 2018

Attached is the latest issue of the RAI Spotlight newsletter. Included are details about the next scheduled MDS teleconference.

The RAI Spotlight newsletter is published at the end of February, May, August and November. The four most recent issues are posted in the Bulletins section of the Nursing Facility Report Portal (NFRP). If you are interested in an older issue, please contact the Myers and Stauffer help desk at 717-541-5809. A generic form to request a CD of any teleconference may be found in the Resources section of the NFRP.

Revised Resident Data Reporting Manual

SNF Quality Reporting Provider Preview Reports Are Now Available

November 26, 2018

Skilled Nursing Facility Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. Providers have until Nov. 30, 2018 to review their performance data on quality measures based on Quarter 2 -2017 to Quarter 1 - 2018 data, prior to the Jan. 2019 Nursing Home Compare site refresh, during which this data will be publicly displayed. Corrections to the underlying data will not be permitted during this time. However, providers can request a CMS review during the preview period if they believe their data scores displayed are inaccurate.

Alzheimer's Association and how to join

October 21, 2018

Attached is a brochure with details about the Alzheimer's Association and how to join. Also attached is information on their curriculum, which has been taught successfully in a variety of care settings for over 20 years. It provides 13 hours of vetted training that may help decrease difficult behaviors, reduce the use of psychotropic medications, help staff gain insight into fall prevention and improve communication between staff and persons living with dementia. This trainer habilitation curriculum also fulfills the training requirements to become a Certified Dementia Practitioner.

When beneficiaries and providers appealed preauthorization and payment denials, Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) overturned 75 percent of their own denials during 2014-16, overturning approximately 216,000 denials each year. During the same period, independent reviewers at higher levels of the appeals process overturned additional denials in favor of beneficiaries and providers. The high number of overturned denials raises concerns that some Medicare Advantage beneficiaries and providers were initially denied services and payments that should have been provided. This is especially concerning because beneficiaries and providers rarely used the appeals process, which is designed to ensure access to care and payment. During 2014-16, beneficiaries and providers appealed only 1 percent of denials to the first level of appeal.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) audits highlight widespread and persistent MAO performance problems related to denials of care and payment. For example, in 2015, CMS cited 56 percent of audited contracts for making inappropriate denials. CMS also cited 45 percent of contracts for sending denial letters with incomplete or incorrect information, which may inhibit beneficiaries' and providers' ability to file a successful appeal. In response to these audit findings, CMS took enforcement actions against MAOs, including issuing penalties and imposing sanctions. Because CMS continues to see the same types of violations in its audits of different MAOs every year, however, more action is needed to address these critical issues. Read the full report here. https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-09-16-00410.pdf

The examples for coding J2000 have been corrected to remove the criteria of general anesthesia

Updated manual pages are marked with the footer "October 2018 (R)"

Providers who use a print version the RAI User's Manual should print the manual replacement pages and incorporate the replacement pages into the printed manual. A revised manual has not been posted, just the Errata

Nurse Aide Registry Annotation List

October 6, 2018

Attached, for your information, is a listing of all nurse aides who have had substantiated findings of resident abuse, neglect or misappropriation of resident property entered on the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry as of October 3, 2018. The Nurse Aides names that have been added since the last issue are bolded.

Verification of a nurse aide's status must still be done before hiring to verify eligibility for employment in a nursing care facility. An individual nurse aide's status may be verified by accessing the twenty-four hour online access to the registry via the Department of Health website at www.health.pa.gov/ . Once this site is accessed, click on "Healthcare Facilities" at top of page and next select "Registries" and "Nurse Aides". Next click on "Nurse Aide Registry On-line". Choose "Pennsylvania Department of Health" under the program once on the Pearson Vue Pulse portal page and use "Registry Search".

If you would like additional information or have any questions, please feel free to contact Division of Nursing Care Facility staff at 717-787-1816.